Meet the Team

THE FLOCK BEHIND THE ROCK

It takes a great team to deliver extraordinary service and customer care, and the synergy between our ever-growing core team of staff and interns here is one of the best! We not only offer a comfortable and fancy place to nest, but we strive to provide a full service and unique experience while maintaining focus on the many small details. This page is dedicated to the sassy chicks and the rest of the brood who share the gift of hospitality and have hearts wired for service. Come meet the fabulous (and Oh, soooo fun!) staff that run the roost known as Talus Rock Retreat:

“HURRICANE” HEATHER

Possessing the passion and executing the vision behind Talus Rock Retreat, Heather absolutely loves what she does for a living, and it shows. From giving welcoming hugs at the front door to entertaining deep discussions about developing-world issues, her diversified life experiences and extensive travel make her an interesting conversationalist with a wonderful gift of hospitality. Quick to offer you a cup of Indian tea, help carry your bags to your room, or join her for a pint of Haagen Dazs ice-cream, Heather is a most gracious steward of Talus Rock Retreat. If you’re lucky, you might just catch a glimpse of her onsite between jumping a train to North Dakota (to see hubby), catching a plane to India (to work missions), or driving rigs between MT, ID and ND (to run the veterinary hospitals).

“MAGNIFICENT” MAYUMI (PRONOUNCED ‘MY-YOU-ME’)

Carefree and content, Mayumi is absolutely “on it” when keeping Talus Rock Retreat sparkly shiny from top to bottom – a mammoth task indeed! From cleaning, learning, training, cooking (her spring rolls are the best!), and popping out of places with answers, tools, and solutions , she provides the hands and feet, encouragement, wisdom, good cheer, and stamina at all hours of morning and night. From baking delicious stress reducers, and finding all things lost, Mayumi remains our extraordinary Housekeeping Queen – the magical wind-beneath-our-wings. This faith-filled woman is undoubtedly one of the best additions to our Talus Rock Retreat family. She heads back to Peru after the crazy summer season to visit her orphanage family and friends before returning to serve our guests once again the following summer. Oh, and keep babies away from Mayumi; she loves them so much that she just might take them home with her!”

“JUMPIN’” JAY “JEHOSEPHATS”

The glue of keeping all systems running, this jaybird flies from one fire to another around the retreat and is a workaholic insomniac. Jay’s proficiency and unmatched work ethic keep us humming around here and just knowing he’s available 24/7 keeps us sleeping well! while running a castle. Sometimes, we don’t even know something is wrong before it is already fixed – he is just that good. You might find him ‘tasting time’ on a hot summer day paddling around the pond on his back like an otter, or teeing up on the wedding field to drive a golf ball into bliss. Working from sunrise to, ummm…sunrise (Did we mention that he lives to work?), he is up and at ’em (Yup, no drugs!) practically around the clock to watch over the place and be ready for every mechanical, electrical, functional or otherwise “honey do” that comes with running a castle!

“COURTEOUS” CAROLINE

While loyal and care-free Caroline is mostly behind the scenes crunching numbers and running budgets, her ornery and quick wit are always a welcome additive to room full of Talus Rock Retreat guests. She claims to like being out of the public eye, but we know better. She lights up a room upon entering and seems to have an extra special affinity for cops, birds and kids. No joke! She was Mark Fuhrman’s ex-wife of 12 years, has 5 kids and you might even hear her pet parakeet, “Kiki Lemondrop” screech from the Talus Rock Retreat office.

‘ALL THINGS ASHLEY’

In whose better hands to put the entire retreat when Pedersens are away? Ashley! Keeper of the Keys, this blond dynamo is the one who holds all the pieces together. Her kind and gentle demeanor coupled with her pragmatic and sensible manner make her a terrific innkeeper and team supervisor. She is quick with solutions, competent at the helm, remains approachable and does what it takes to please Talus Rock Retreat guests. From website updates and marketing to last minute flower arrangements and cake fetching, Ashley is the umbrella catch-all with octopus-like abilities as she keep the many daily balls in the air.

‘SMOOTH SYSTEMS SARA’

An organizational magnet, Sara has what it takes to keep a small business and all the skills, talents, schedules and personalities in efficient order. She matches aptitude and work styles to tasks and projects and has an amazing ability to meet deadlines while still keeping it fun. We count on her to bring on board our revolving door of interns and special needs volunteers and her cool, harmonious, deliberate and precise management style is a calming influence to our sometimes chaotic enterprise (Sandpoint’s seasonal summer slam screams “Sara”!)